Background/Purpose To identify thinking processes, this study used Marland's (1977) cognitive process description of teachers' interactive thoughts (cited by Clark & Peterson, 1986). The purpose of this study was (1) to examine the scope of pedagogical thinking processes and the potential benefits for problem solving in future classes; and (2) to discover challenges experienced in building a better support system, and to evaluate the quality of an action research project in a PETE program.
Method Student teachers (N=22), conducted an action research project, during an internship II in 2010. Qualitative data were collected from the proposals and the reflections as the action research progressed.
Analysis/Results Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill, Thompson, & William, 1997) was used to analyze data from the proposals and reflections. The findings from the 125 responses on the reflections are that they experienced challenges in (1) applying two different approaches in teaching for a comparison study; (2) managing additional class conduct and materials during an experimental intervention; and (3) dealing with the gaps between theory and practice in implementing a new approach even though it has been supported by theories. It has been reported that students resist new instructional interventions. Forty three percent of the 125 responses were categorized as interpretation and anticipation along with interactive perceptions, which may be associated with a problem solving process.
Conclusions Action research may facilitate critical thinking processes, as assessing needs, taking the steps of an inquiry, and analyzing data correspond to the nature of its problem solving origination.